Eddie J. Martin, founder of Martin Aviation Inc. and the man regarded as the father of aviation in Orange County, died Tuesday at age 88. Martin died about 9:10 p.m. Tuesday after being admitted to the St. Joseph's Hospital in Orange on Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Martin Aviation is Orange County's oldest and largest fixed-base general aviation operator.

Eddie Martin remembers when he could shut off his airplane's engine and land just about anywhere in Orange County that he wanted to. But that was in the 1920s--when aviation, Martin and Orange County were young. Today, the county has 2.2 million residents and an airport jammed with enough private, corporate and commercial aircraft to make it the fifth-busiest in the nation. Airplane owners now pay a premium price for the convenience of storing planes in Orange County.

A proposal that could map a new course for general aviation at John Wayne Airport and result in the demolition of the old Edward J. (Eddie) Martin Terminal was approved by the Airport Commission on Wednesday night. The plan was recommended to the Orange County Board of Supervisors on a voice vote, despite concerns about the level of services afforded to the owners and operators of private planes.

Eddie J. Martin refers to himself as "just a clodhopper off the ranch," and brushes off praise as though it's a bothersome bug. Others, however, see things differently. They describe the crusty Santa Ana resident as the father of flight in Orange County. Aviation was still in its infancy 65 years ago when Martin established what was to become Orange County Airport, renamed in 1979 in honor of actor John Wayne. Martin also founded Martin Aviation Inc.

For a brief moment Thursday, as the restored World War II bombers appeared on the horizon en route to John Wayne Airport, 78-year-old Al Olivari was 25 again. At that age, he was a gunner assigned to shoot down enemy aircraft from behind a thin plexiglass shield in the nose of a B-17 Flying Fortress. "It was noisy as hell, and ice cold in there," he yelled as the vintage B-17 and B-24 Liberator circled in a thundering air display.

The Twilight Zone has set up shop in Burbank for the weekend. It's open to the public, costs only $3 to get in, and once you stop looking around corners for Rod Serling, the entire family is in for an experience that's as educational as it is entertaining. Today and Sunday, two eras will coexist on the runways of Burbank Airport.

Tony Aliengena is finally coming home. After more than 17,000 exhausting miles through eight nations, and a near-disastrous accident in Alaska, Tony 11, is expected to fly into John Wayne Airport today, becoming the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the globe. Scheduled to meet the entourage at the Martin Aviation facilities are Orange County Supervisor Thomas F.

The pilot of a private aircraft with malfunctioning landing gear circled John Wayne Airport for an hour Monday afternoon before he and a fellow passenger guided the plane to a successful landing, officials said. The pilot and owner of the 1960 Piper Comanche, Barry T. Faber, 64, of Newport Beach, was trying to manually retract the plane's landing gear as his passenger and co-pilot, Ray Tedford, guided the plane into 25 m.p.h.

The chief executive of Martin Aviation has urged officials at John Wayne Airport to install television monitors at security gates and replace all locks, following reports that two of his employees gave out lock combinations. In a letter sent Thursday, Martin's Robert Volk said he told airport manager George Rebella that the county should scrap the push-button combination locks on all gates and install locks that are activated with magnetic or computerized cards.

Air/Lyon Inc., the newly formed holding company that last month acquired Martin Aviation, Orange County's oldest flight service company, said Monday it has purchased a Northern California aviation engine and engine parts supplier. David Banmiller, who formed Air/Lyon with Newport Beach developer William Lyon, said the acquisition of International Aircraft Support Inc. of Belmont is part of the holding company's overall plan to develop a network of aircraft and airline service businesses.